System for tire storage, retrieval, and inventory management

ABSTRACT

A storage array includes one or more tier including a plurality of roller pairs and at least one motor for spinning each roller pair. Plates are positioned between each roller pair. A horizontal nudger is positioned above each plate moves tires horizontally within the storage array. A tire is moved longitudinally within the storage array by causing a roller pair bearing the tire to spin followed by lifting the plate below the tire, thereby causing the tire to roll forward or backward within the storage array. A controller coupled to actuators for the plates and the horizontal nudger invokes movement of tires in and out of the storage array and within the storage array according to a storage, retrieval, and inventory management program. Tires may include electronically readable chips that are detected by sensors at a front edge of the storage array that are coupled to the controller.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to the storage of tires for vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In retail tire stores, large auto dealerships, motor pools and otherfacilities that install large numbers of automotive tires, storage andhandling of the tires has always been a challenge because of the size,shape and weight of the tires.

Tires are typically stored on floor-to-ceiling racks with narrow accessaisles between them. In the smaller and older shops, tires are stockedand retrieved by hand with store personnel climbing ladders to place thetires on the racks and then to “pull” them off when they are sold.Having personnel balancing on ladders high above floor level whilehandling tires is an invitation to injury accidents and industrialinsurance claims. In larger shops, fork lift trucks and pallets are usedto handle the tires but placing them on and retrieving them fromoverhead racks is still a time-consuming and sometimes dangerousoperation.

In addition, the fact that access aisles must be provided between thetire racks makes storage density a major problem. The number of tiresper 100 square feet of floor space that can be stored on racks withaisles between them is far less than would be the case if the tirescould be stored close to each other in all directions with only inchesbetween them. This fact precludes location of tire stores in high costreal estate locations even though the locations might be close to manypotential qualified customers (in major metropolitan business districts,for example).

An additional problem with the current system is managing tireinventory, both recorded and physical. Typically, when a shipment(truckload) of tires arrives at a store from a distributor/manufacturer,the tires are physically checked against the bill of lading or invoice,the model or part number, quantity, description, etc. are entered into acomputer data base and the tires are then placed in storage racks withlabels identifying individual tires either on the tires themselves or onthe front of the rack where that size/make of tire is customarilystored. Since the mix of tire sizes, types and manufacturers ininventory changes constantly, the exact location of any particular tirein storage at any particular time is always a question, which leads towasted time and mistakes when it comes to “pulling” the tire frominventory for installation.

Most CPA firms and banks and other lenders require that a physical tireinventory count be reconciled with the recorded inventory at least oncea year. This requires more personnel on ladders checking the racks oftires, which takes more hours and exposure to accidents and mistakes.

The systems and methods disclosed herein provide an improved approachfor the storage and retrieval of tires and for managing a tireinventory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention a system for managing tire inventorydefines a horizontal direction and a longitudinal directionperpendicular to the horizontal direction. The system includes aplurality of rods each defining an axis of rotation parallel to thehorizontal direction, the axes of rotation of the plurality of rodsbeing offset from one another along the longitudinal direction such thata plurality tires may be supported by pairs of adjacent rods of theplurality of rods. At least one motor is coupled to the plurality ofrods effective to selectively rotate each plurality of rods about theaxes of rotation thereof. At least one actuator is positioned adjacentthe rods of the plurality of rods and defines at least one engagementmember positioned to cause a tire of the plurality of tires at least oneof (a) move parallel to the axes of rotation of a pair of adjacent rodsof the plurality of rods in response to activation of the actuator, and(b) move from resting on a first and a second rod of the plurality ofrods to resting on a second and a fourth rod of the plurality of rods.

In some embodiments, each rod of the plurality of rods further includesa plurality of indentations distributed along the length thereof. Forexample, the plurality of indentations may include (a) a first conicalsection tapering from a first wide end to a first narrow end that has asmaller cross section than the first wide end, and (b) a second conicalsection tapering from a second-wide end to a second narrow end that hasa smaller cross section than the second-wide end, the first narrow endabutting the second narrow end.

In some embodiments, the at least one engagement member comprises atleast one plate positioned between the pair adjacent rods of theplurality of rods. The at least one actuator includes at least one firstactuator positioned to move the plate upward between the adjacent rodsan amount effective to permit the tire of the plurality of tires to rollover one of the rods of the pair of adjacent rods. In some embodiments,the plurality of rods include a plurality of rod pairs, each rod of theplurality of rods being included in one and only one rod pair of theplurality of rod pairs. The at least one plate comprises a plurality ofplates such that multiple plates of the plurality of plates arepositioned between the rods of each rod pair. In such embodiments, theat least one first actuator includes a plurality of first actuators eachengaging one plate of the plurality of plates.

In some embodiments, the at least one actuator includes at least onesecond actuator positioned above the plurality of plates. In suchembodiments, the at least one engagement member may include at least onenudging member, the second actuator configured to move the at least onenudging member parallel to the axes of rotation of the plurality ofrods.

In some embodiments, the at least one nudging member includes first andsecond arms offset from one another in the horizontal direction, thefirst and second arms each having a roller mounted thereto, the rollerbeing rotatable about an axis of rotation parallel to the verticaldirection.

In some embodiments, the system includes at least one third actuator,the at least one third actuator configured to selectively move thenudging member upward away from the plurality of plates. The at leastone nudging member may include a plurality of nudging members, eachnudging member of the plurality of nudging members being positionedalong between adjacent rods of the plurality of rods along thehorizontal direction.

In some embodiments, the plurality of rods includes a plurality of setsof rods offset from one another along a vertical direction perpendicularto the horizontal direction and longitudinal direction. The system mayfurther include an elevator configured to move between the sets of rods.In some embodiments, the elevator further includes a pair of elevatorrods and at least one elevator motor configured to rotate the pair ofelevator rods.

In another aspect of the invention, a method for managing tire inventoryincludes providing a three-dimensional storage array defining aplurality of storage locations P(i,j,k), where i is a horizontalposition from i=1 to L, where j is a longitudinal position from j=1 toM, and k is a vertical position from k=1 to N. The method furtherincludes providing at each storage location P(i,j,k) a lifting actuatorA(i,j,k); providing at each vertical position k and longitudinalposition, a rod pair R(j,k) each rod pair R(j,k) extending across allhorizontal positions i=1 to L; and providing at least one motor coupledto the rod pairs R(j,k) and configured to rotate rods of each rod pairsR(j,k). The method further includes providing a controller coupled tothe lifting actuators A(i,j,k).

The controller receives an instruction to retrieve a tire T(a,b,c)located at position P(a,b,c), where a is an integer less than or equalto L, b is an integer less than or equal to M, and c is an integer lessthan or equal to N. In response to the instruction, the controllerinvokes spinning of at least a portion of the rods R(j,k=c) and actuatesa portion of the lifting actuators A(i, j, k=c) effective to engage thetire T(a,b,c) such that the spinning of the tire T(a,b,c) causes thetire T(a,b,c) to roll toward a forward edge of the three-dimensionalstorage array in response to engagement with each lifting actuator ofthe portion of the lifting actuators A(i,j,k=c).

In some embodiments, the method further includes providing horizontalactuators H(i,j,k) at the storage locations P(i,j,k) and offset abovethe lifting actuators A(i,j,k), each actuator H(i,j,k) configured toshift a tire at a given storage location P(i=i₁,j=j₁,k=k1) to at leastone of storage locations P(i₁−1,j₁,k₁) and P(i₁+1,j₁,k₁). In suchembodiments, the method further includes activating, by the controller,at least a portion of the horizontal actuators H(i,j,k=c), effective tomove at least one tire positioned between storage location P(a,b,c) andthe forward edge of the three-dimensional storage array out ofhorizontal position i=a to horizontal position i=a1, where a1 is equalto one of a+1 and a−1, thereby permitting rolling of the tire T(a,b,c)toward the edge of the three-dimensional storage array. Anotherembodiment includes activating, by the controller, a horizontal actuatorH(i=a,j=b,k=c), effective to move the tire T(a,b,c) out of horizontalposition i=to horizontal position i=a1, where a1 is equal to one of a+1and a−1, in response to determining that another tire is located betweenthe storage location P(a,b,c) and the forward edge of the storage array.

In some embodiments, the horizontal actuators H(i,j,k) each includefirst and second arms protruding downwardly toward lifting actuatorsA(i,j,k), the first and second arms sized to be positioned on eitherside of a tire stored at one of the locations P(i,j,k). Pivotingactuators V(i,j,k) may be coupled to the first and second arms of thehorizontal actuators H(i,j,k) and operated by the controller. The methodmay further include invoking, by the controller, pivoting upward of apivoting actuator V(i=a1, j=b, k=c) prior to activating, by thecontroller, the horizontal actuator H(i=a,j=b,k=c).

In some embodiments, the controller is programmed to store a map thatmaps each of the positions P(i,j,k) to a corresponding tire description.In such embodiments, the method may further include, in response to eachmovement of each tire by any of the lifting actuators A(i,j,k) andhorizontal actuators H(i,j,k), mapping a descriptor of the each tire toa new position P(i,j,k) to which the each tire was moved by the eachmovement.

In some embodiments, the three dimensional storage array furthercomprises one or more sensors S(i,k) located at each of the horizontalpositions i and vertical positions k, the sensors being located betweena longitudinal position j=1 and the forward edge of the threedimensional storage array, where j=1 is the longitudinal positionclosest to the forward edge, the controller being coupled to the one ormore sensors. In such embodiments, the method may further includedetecting, by the controller, an output of one of the sensors S(i=i₂,k=k₂), where i₂ is an integer less than L and k₂ is an integer less thanN. The controller decodes the output to determine a tire descriptor. Thecontroller then stores the tire descriptor in the map as correspondingto position P(i=i₂, j=1, k=k₂). The sensor may be embodied as anelectronic chip reader.

In some embodiments, the controller is further programmed to evaluate aseasonal access frequency for each tire descriptor and activate at leasta portion of the lifting actuators A(i,j,k) and horizontal actuatorsH(i,j,k) effective to move tires corresponding to tire descriptors thatare accessed more frequently in a current season closer to the forwardedge of the three-dimensional storage array than tires corresponding totire descriptors that are accessed less frequently in the currentseason.

In some embodiments an elevator is coupled to the controller and themethod further includes invoking, by the controller, movement of theelevator to a vertical position k=c in response to the instruction toretrieve the tire T(a,b,c).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention aredescribed in detail below with reference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1A is a side view of a tire spinning on rollers for use in astorage array in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 1B and 1C illustrate horizontal movement of a spinning tire alongrollers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a side view illustrating various sizes of tires resting onrollers of a storage array in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 2B and 2C illustrate rollers having tapered portions forindividual tires in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a friction plate for causing spinning tiresto advance along a longitudinal direction in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4A illustrates a tier of a storage array having a plurality ofpairs of spinning rods in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4B illustrates a storage array with multiple tiers and an elevatorin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4C illustrates a tier of a storage array stocked with tires inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A through 5C illustrate an implementation of an actuator for alifting plate in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A through 6F illustrate operation of a nudger in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A through 7F illustrate the use of an apparatus for installingelectronic chips in tires in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of components for implementingstorage, retrieval, and inventory management using the storage array inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 9A to 9F are schematic block diagrams illustrating the loading andunloading of tires using a storage array in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 10A and 10B are schematic block diagrams illustrating the loadingof a shipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The systems and methods disclosed herein solve all of the problemslisted in the Background section. They enable tires to be placed ininventory almost as fast as they can be unloaded from the delivery truckwith no personnel on ladders. An automated storage array is disclosedthat stores tires in a small fraction of the space occupied byconventional racks since tires are stored in the storage array in closeproximity to each other in three dimensions. The automated storage arrayretrieves and delivers tires from inventory on demand in a matter ofseconds. A controller coupled to the storage array updates tireinventory data in a store computer database every time the storage arrayis used and can therefore produce a physical inventory count on demandat any time.

In addition, the automated storage array permits the use ofsophisticated computer programs that can analyze individual tireinventory “turns” and determine where individual tires should be storedin the storage array for efficient retrieval.

FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C illustrate a schematic representation of principlesof operation of the storage array. A more detailed implementation of thestorage array is described below.

A vertically positioned tire 101 is supported on two small diameterspinning rollers 102 (e.g., having a diameter much smaller than thediameter of the tire, such as less than 10%, or less than 15%, of thediameter of the tire 101), whose axes of rotation (and symmetry) areparallel to the axis of rotation the tire 101. As the rollers 102 spinand cause the tire 101 to spin, the tire 101 may be moved from side toside (e.g., in a horizontal direction) with very little force 103 andwill stay substantially vertical during side-to-side movement because ofthe rotational inertia of the tire 101, provided an applied horizontalforce or “nudge” 103 is not too large.

As is apparent in FIGS. 1A to 1C the rollers 102 define a rotationaldirection 104 and the tire 101 defines a rotational direction 106 thatwill be opposite the rotational direction 106. The operation may befurther understood with respect to a vertical direction 108corresponding to the direction of gravity, a longitudinal direction 110perpendicular to the vertical direction 108 and to the axes of rotationof the tire 101 and rollers 102, and a lateral direction 112 that isparallel to the axes of rotation of the tire 101 and rollers 102. As isapparent in FIGS. 1A and 1C, the rollers 102 are offset from one anotherin the longitudinal direction by a distance that is less than thediameter of the tire.

Referring to FIG. 2A, various tires 202-206 may be used with the samerollers 102 with the same longitudinal separation. Accordingly,separation of the rollers 102 in the longitudinal direction 110 may beselected such that it is substantially smaller than the diameter of thesmallest wheel to be stored, e.g., between 80 and 50 percent of thediameter of the smallest wheel to be stored on the rollers 102.

Referring to FIGS. 2B and 2C, Further, in some embodiments, the rollers102 may be provided with indentations 201 formed therein. In theillustrated embodiment, the indentations 201 are wide, very shallow “Vs”201 machined into the rollers 102. For example, the width of a “V” 201may be between 20 and 40 times its depth. Each “V” 201 may be embodiedas two conical sections, the one on the left tapering to a smallerdiameter up to a middle point and the one on the right flaring to alarger diameter from the middle point, such that the narrow ends of theconical sections are joined together at the middle point. Each “V” 201on a roller 102 has an opposite (e.g., located at the same locationalong the horizontal direction 112) and similarly shaped and sized “V”201 in the adjacent roller 102.

In use, any spinning tire 101 that is nudged into a “V” pair 201 willsettle into and stay in that “V” pair 201 unless/until it is nudgedsideways into an adjacent “V” pair 201. The angle of the “Vs” 201 may beso shallow that the spinning tire will climb up the sides of the shallow“Vs” 201 and move over to the next “V” 201 pair and settle into it as itis being nudged while staying substantially vertical and at a rightangle to the spinning rollers.

The shallow “Vs” 201 of the rollers 102 can accommodate any tire shapeand size 202-206 provided the tire tread width is no wider than thewidth of the “V” 201 and the tire diameter is large enough so that thetire will be supported by the spinning rollers 102 rather than squeezedby the rollers 102. Tires with wider, flatter treads will ride higher inthe “Vs” 201 while tires with narrower, rounded tread designs will ridelower in the “Vs” 201. The “Vs” 201 may be uniform in dimensions for allrollers 102 in the storage array such that the same range of tires maybe stored over each pair of rollers 102.

A motor 208 may coupled to each roller 102. Alternatively, a singlemotor may be coupled to multiple rollers 102. The motor 208 preferablyis a bi-directional motor such that the rollers may be caused to rotatein either direction. The motor 208 may be an electric motor, hydraulicmotor, pneumatic motor, or any other type of device capable of inducingrotational movement.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, in some embodiments, fixed horizontalsurfaces 301 are positioned outboard of the rollers 102 and tire 101along the longitudinal direction 110 and in line with the centerline ofthe tire tread. The horizontal surfaces 301 may be aligned in thevertical direction 108 with the top of the spinning rollers 102, e.g.,the largest diameter portion of the spinning rollers 102 includingindentations 201.

A vertically movable surface 302 is raised from a first position (FIG.3A) under the center of the portion of the spinning tire 101 that hangsdown between the two rollers 102. The movable surface 302 preferablydoes not contact the spinning tire 101 in the first position. Themovable surface 302 is raised to a second position (FIG. 3B) such thatthe upper surface thereof is at least flush, e.g., at the same height,with the fixed horizontal surfaces 301. In the second position, theupper surface of the movable surface 302 may be parallel to thelongitudinal direction 108, horizontal direction 112 and to the fixedhorizontal surfaces 301.

Friction between the tire tread and the movable surface 302 will causethe tire 101 to roll and to continue in a relatively straight line onthe fixed horizontal surface 301. The rotational inertia of the tire 101causes it to stay vertical, provided the tire 101 is initially spinningfast enough such that that not all of its rotational energy isdissipated by friction with surface 302 or in being converted totranslational kinetic energy.

In the illustrated embodiment, the rollers 102 rotated counterclockwise,causing the tire 101 to rotate clockwise. Accordingly, upon raising ofthe movable surface 302 to the second position, the tire 101 rolls tothe right. Movement to the left may be achieved by spinning the rollers102 clockwise prior to raising the movable surface 302.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B a storage tier 401 is the basic structuralframework and platform that supports the other parts of the storagearray and to which the other parts are attached. A typical embodiment ofthe storage will have two, three, or four or more storage tiers 401a-401 c stacked one above the other and each performing the samefunctions. A storage tier 401 may include a plurality of roller pairs402 a-402 f each including a pair of rollers 102. Each roller pair 402a-402 f defines a longitudinal storage location. Hereinbelow “rollerpair 402 a-402 f” shall be used interchangeably with “longitudinalstorage location 402 a-402 f.” As illustrated, an opening 404 a-404 f isdefined in an upper surface 403 of the tier 401 between the rollers 102of each roller pair 402 a-402 f for receiving the vertically movablesurfaces 302. As is also apparent, the upper surface 403 of the tier 401extends between pairs 402 a-402 f of rollers 102 and beyond the firstand last pairs of rollers 402 a, 402 f. In this manner the upper surface403 provides a surface on which tires may roll when caused to do so bylifting of the vertically movable surfaces 302.

Each roller 102 of each roller pair 402 a-402 f defines a plurality ofstorage locations 406 a-406 j. Each storage location may include anindentation 201 as described above. Each storage location 406 a-406 jmay include a corresponding movable surface 302 positioned at thestorage location 406 a-406 j between the rollers 102 of each roller pair402 a-402 f such that a tire at a particular location 406 a-406 j may belifted and caused to roll independent of other tires resting on the sameroller pair 402 a-402 f.

Accordingly, as is apparent from FIGS. 4A and 4B, the arrangement of thestorage tiers 401 a-401 c, roller pairs 402 a-402 f, and storagelocations 406 a-406 j provides a three dimensional array or grid ofstorage locations. The vertical location of each tier 401 a-401 c may bedefined as a vertical coordinate k, k=1 to 3, in the illustratedembodiment. The longitudinal position of each roller pair 402 a-402 fcorresponds to a longitudinal coordinate j, j=1 to 6 in the illustratedembodiment. The horizontal location of each storage location 406 a-406 jcorresponds to a horizontal coordinate i, i=1 to 10 in the illustratedembodiment. Accordingly, a three dimensional array of storage locationsP(i,j,k) is defined at each combination of coordinates j, and k.

The rollers 102 of each roller pair 402 a-402 f may have a width in thehorizontal direction 112 that is almost as large as the width of theroller deck (e.g., within 80, preferably 90, percent). The axes ofrotation of the roller pairs 402 a-402 f may be below and parallel tothe upper surface 403 and are spaced apart uniformly in the longitudinaldirection 110. The rollers 102 of the roller pairs 402 a-402 f may bepositioned along the vertical direction 108 such that the top of thewidest diameter of the rollers in the roller pairs are at the sameheight as the upper surface 403. However, in some embodiments, thehighest points of the rollers 102 of the roller pairs 402 a-402 f may beslightly higher or slightly lower than the upper surface 403 and stillfunction adequately.

The distance between the individual rollers 102 of each roller pair 402a-402 f in the storage tier 401 is dependent on the minimum and maximumdiameters of the tires in the mix of tires to be stored. Tires of manydifferent diameters can be stored at the same time and any size tire canbe stored in any storage position. The distance between individualrollers 102 in each roller pair 402 a-402 f is preferably long enoughsuch that the largest diameter tire will be well supported without atendency to topple when it is not spinning and short enough such thatthe smallest diameter tire will not fall through or be squeezed by therollers. The distance between roller pairs 402 a-402 f on the storagetier 401 is preferably great enough such that the largest diameter tiresstored in longitudinally adjacent pairs of rollers pairs 402 a-402 fwill not touch. Spacing between individual rollers 102 in each rollerpair 402 a-402 f and between the roller pairs 402 a-402 f themselves ispreferably uniform throughout the storage array, e.g., for all tiers 401a-401 c, such that any tire can move to any tire position within thestorage array. However, in other embodiments, non-uniform roller 102spacing and roller pair 402 a-402 f spacing may be used such thatcertain roller pairs 402 a-402 f are only suitable for larger or smallertires.

When power is applied to the roller pairs 402 a-402 f, both rollers spinin the same direction. The tires resting on the roller pairs 402 a-402 fwill also spin (in the opposite rotation from the rollers) and generatemomentum and rotational inertial, causing them to orient themselvesvertically and resist toppling. In some embodiments, a single motordrives all roller pairs 402 a-402 f of a given tier 401 a-401 c. Inother embodiments, an individual motor or pair of motors drives eachroller pair 402 a-402 f.

A tier 401 may further include one or more electronic components tofacilitate inventory management. At each horizontal storage location 406a-406 j, a sensor 408 a-408 j may be mounted on, at, or just below theupper surface 403 adjacent to a roller 102 of the first roller pair 402a such that the sensor 408 a-408 j will be close to, but not touch, aspinning tire resting on the first roller pair 402 a. Specifically, thesensor 408 a-408 j will be located close enough to sense an electronicchip in the spinning tire but not be impacted by the largest or smallestpossible tire that may be stored in the storage array. The sensor 408a-408 j may be an RFID (radio frequency identifier) reader, electronicchip reader, or other sensing device. The sensors 408 a-408 j may alsobe any other type of sensing device, such as a camera for reading visualsymbols, a bar code scanner, any other optical code scanner (e.g. QR(quick response) code scanner), and the like. Accordingly, tires mayhave RFID tags, optical codes, or other sensible structures securedthereto in accordance with the type of sensor 408 a-408 j that is used.In this manner, as each tire rolls onto the tier 401, the sensor 408a-408 j may detect the tire and extract an identifier of the tire,thereby enabling automated identification of the tire for inventorymanagement purposes as discussed in greater detail below. The tier 401may further include indicator lights 410 a-401 j on a front surface ofeach storage location 406 a-406 j. The function of the indicator lights410 a-410 j is described in greater detail below.

Referring specifically to FIG. 4B, in order to transport tires along thevertical direction 108 to and from the various tiers 401 a-401 c, anelevator deck 412 may be provided. The elevator deck 412 includes anelevator surface 414 and a roller pair 416 including two rollers 102. Anopening 418 is defined between the rollers 102 and includes verticallifting surfaces at each horizontal storage location 406 a-406 j in thesame manner as the tiers 401 a-401 c. The configuration of the rollerpairs 416 and the rollers 102 relative to the surface 414 may beidentical to that of the roller pairs 402 a-402 f relative to the uppersurface 403. As is apparent in FIG. 4B, the elevator surface 414 extendsaround the roller pair 416 and may be positioned flush or near flush(e.g., within 0.5 to 1 cm) of the upper surface 403 to enable rolling oftires back and forth between a tier 401 a-401 c and the elevator surface414. As is apparent, the elevator deck 412 may hold the same number oftires as may be stored on one roller pair 402 a-42 f, i.e. the number ofhorizontal storage locations 406 a-406 j.

The elevator deck 412 may be coupled to any mechanism known in the artto raise and lower the elevator deck 412 in a controlled fashion. In theillustrated embodiment, the elevator deck 412 is coupled to cables 420or chains 420 coupled to one or more actuators 422 that are operable towind and unwind the cables 420 or chains 420 effective to raise andlower the elevator deck 412. In other embodiments, a pneumatic ormechanical lifting system may be used.

The elevator deck 412 is positionable adjacent to the first longitudinalposition 402 a in each tier 401 a-401 c and travels vertically betweentiers 401 a-401 c so that it can transport a tire (or tires) to any tier401 a-401 c and receive a tire (or tires) from any tier 401 a-401 c. Insome embodiments, the elevator deck 412 further includes a horizontalactuator 424 such that it may be moved, as directed by the controller800, between horizontal locations 406 a-406 j. For example, in someembodiments, the roller pair 416 of the elevator deck 412 only definestwo horizontal storage locations (e.g., Vs 201). In some embodiments,the actuators 422 are mounted to a horizontal actuator 424. In theillustrated embodiment, the horizontal actuator 424 is raised andlowered by the actuators 422. The horizontal actuator 424 may beembodied as any electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, or pneumatic actuatorknown in the art for performing translational movement.

Referring to FIG. 4C, in use tires 101 are stored at some or all of thestorage locations P(i,j,k). In some embodiments, all but the last rollerpair 402 f has at least one empty horizontal storage location 406 a-406j. In this manner, tires may be shifted in the horizontal direction 112to permit a tire located further from the front to roll forward to thefront edge of the tier 401 or a tire may be shifted in the horizontaldirection 112 to avoid another tire positioned between it and the frontedge of the tier 401.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the vertically movable surface 302 may bean upper surface of a plate 501. As is apparent in FIGS. 5A and 5B, theextent of the plate 501 in the longitudinal direction 110 is less thanthe longitudinal extent of the opening 404 a-404 f of between a pair ofrollers 402 a-402 f such that the plate 501 may move up between therollers 102 without interference. However, the longitudinal extent issufficient to provide a surface for engaging a spinning tire 101. Thehorizontal extent (e.g., into the page of FIGS. 5A and 5B is slightlyless (e.g., between 90 and 95 percent) of the width of the storagelocations 406 a-406 j such that each plate 501 may be moved up and downwithout interference from an adjacent plate 501.

Various actuation means may be used to selectively raise and lower eachplate 501 and its corresponding vertically movable surface 302 in orderto achieve the functionality described with respect to FIGS. 3A and 3B.For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the plate 501 is mounted ona pivoting rod 502 or plate 502. A pneumatic or hydraulic actuator 504is coupled to the tier 401 and to the rod 502. The actuator 504 maytherefore be selectively activated to raise or lower the plate 501.Other actuators may also be used such as mechanical actuators,electrical actuators, and the like. In addition, rather than a pivotingmotion, the actuator 504 may invoke a strictly vertical motion of theplate 501.

As shown in FIG. 5A, when the plate 501 is lowered, the tire 101 spinsfreely in direction 106 due to rotation 104 of the rollers 102. Uponraising of the plate 501, friction between the plate 501 and the tire101 causes the tire to roll forward (right) in the longitudinaldirection 110. The vertically movable surfaces 203 of the plate 501 maybe textured or treated to enhance friction between itself and the tire101. Of course, where the rollers 102 are caused to spin in an oppositedirection (clockwise), the tire 101 would roll backward (left) inresponse to raising of the plate 501.

Referring specifically to FIG. 5B, the sensor 408 a-408 j for aparticular horizontal location 406 a-406 j may be located between therollers 102 of the first longitudinal position (i.e., closest to a frontedge of the tier 401). The sensor 408 a-408 j is preferably mounted suchthat it is a close as possible to a tire located between the rollers 102without being impacted by a spinning tire. For example, the sensor 408a-408 j may be mounted at a position that will not be impacted by thesmallest or largest tires that may be stored on the rollers 102. As isapparent in FIG. 5B, the sensor 408 a-408 j is located closer to oneroller 102 than to the other of a roller pair. In this manner, thesensor 408 a-408 j is positioned to sense a wide range of tires sincethe middle of the span between the rods 102 will be the lowest point ofa tire resting on the rollers 102 and will vary widely with the size ofthe tire. The sensor 408 a-408 j may be located closer to the forwardroller 102 or the rearward roller 102 of a roller pair.

Referring to FIG. 5C, the plate 501 may include a notch 409 that issized and positioned to provide clearance for the sensor 408 a-408 jcorresponding to the horizontal storage location 406 a-406 j at whichthe plate 501 is located. In the illustrated embodiment, the notch 409is located at the rearward edge of the plate 501. In other embodiments,the notch 409 is located at the forward edge. In still otherembodiments, the sensor 408 a-408 j is mounted directly to the plate501, such as in a recess defined by the plate 501.

Referring to FIGS. 6A to 6F, movement of tires 101 in the horizontaldirection 112 may be facilitated by a nudger 600. The nudger 600 mayinclude arms 601 that extend downwardly from a pivoting rod 602. Thearms 601 include rollers 604 that rotate in response to contact with aspinning tire 101. The rollers 604 may simply be sleeves rotatablysecured to the arms 601 or may include bearings to facilitate rotation.The rod 602 may be mounted to a horizontal actuator 606 that selectivelyslides the rod to the left or right in the horizontal direction 112. Thehorizontal actuator may be any pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical ormechanical actuator known in the art. The extent of horizontal movementof the horizontal actuator 606 may be the width of an individual storagelocations 406 a-406 to the right and to the left (or just to the rightor just to the left for nudgers 600 located at the left or right edges,respectively).

The rod 602 may be mounted to a pivoting actuator 608. The pivotingactuator 608 pivots the rod 602 about an axis of rotation parallel tothe longitudinal direction. The pivoting actuator 608 may be anypneumatic, hydraulic, electrical or mechanical actuator known in theart.

An instance of the illustrated nudger 600 may be mounted to each tier401 a-401 c above each storage location P(i,j,k). For example, whenlowered and at a central position in their horizontal range of motion,the arms 601 and rollers 604 may be longitudinally centered between pairof rollers of a roller pair 402 a-402 f (e.g., within 15% of theseparation distance of the rollers 102 from the midway point between therollers) and horizontally located within the horizontal extent of astorage location 406 a-406 j. The separation between the arms 601 androllers 604, e.g., inner most facing portions of the rollers 604, may beequal to or less than the width of the storage locations 406 a-406 j. Inparticular, the separation and width of the rollers 604 may be such thatthey do not interfere with a tire 101 positioned between the rollers 604of a nudger 600 and do not interfere with another tire 101 positionedadjacent the nudger 600. The rod 602, the actuators 606, 608, and anyother structures of the nudgers 600 other than the arms 601 that mightinterfere with a spinning tire 101 are positioned higher above the uppersurfaces 403 of the tier than the diameter of the largest tire to bestored in the machine.

In order to move a tire in the horizontal direction 12 from alongitudinal position j=j₁ to an adjacent location j=j₂, the pivotingactuator 608 for a location P(i,j₂,k) pivots the arms 601 upward and outof the way (see FIG. 6A). Alternatively, the horizontal actuator 608 forthe location P(i,j₂,k) may move the arms 601 horizontally out of theway. The horizontal actuator 606 for location P(i,j₁,k) then moves thearms 601 horizontally to position j₂ (see FIGS. 6C and 6D for leftwardmovement and FIGS. 6E and 6F for rightward movement). The pivotingactuator 608 for location P(i,j₁,k) then moves the arms 601 up and outof the way and slides the arms 601 back to longitudinal position j₁. Thepivoting actuators 608 for locations P(i,j₁,k) and P(i,j₂,k) may thenpivot the arms 601 downwardly such that any tire positioned thereat islocated between the arms 601 (see FIG. 6B).

Each nudger 600 may perform one or both of the following functions: (a)to move a spinning tire laterally from a storage position directly underthe nudger to an adjacent storage position as described above, and (2)to stabilize the posture of the tire 101 as it is being moved and alsowhen it is at rest. Some tires, because of their tread contours, tend towobble when they are moving between storage positions and to tip to oneside when they stop spinning.

As noted above, each tier 401 may include a set of a sensor 408 a-408 jat each horizontal storage location 406 a-406 j. FIGS. 7A to 7Fillustrate a machine 700 and method of use for injecting electronicchips into a tread of a tire 101.

The machine 700 may include a probe 702 including one or more angledfaces 704 that come to sharp point. The probe 702 is preferably strongenough and the faces 704 preferably define a point sharp enough topenetrate the tread of a typical automobile tire. A receptacle 706 isdefined in the probe 702 for receiving an electronic chip. In theillustrated embodiment, the receptacle 706 is a pocket extendinginwardly perpendicular to one of the faces 704. A channel 708 extendsthrough the probe 702 into fluid communication with the receptacle 706.

The probe 702 may mount to a piston 710 positioned within a cylinder712. An inlet 714 is in fluid communication with the cylinder 712 fordelivering pressurized gas or liquid to the cylinder 712. A post 716 mayextend from the piston 710 through an end cap 718 of the cylinder 712.The channel 708 extends through the post 716 to an inlet 720.

In use, an electronic chip 722 is placed within the receptacle 706 (FIG.7B). The machine 700 is then brought down over a tire 101 (FIG. 7C).Pressurized gas or liquid 724 is input through inlet 714 into thecylinder 712, causing the piston 710 to drive the probe 702 into thetread of the tire 101 (FIG. 7D). Pressurized air or liquid 726 is inputto inlet 720, driving the electronic chip 722 out of the receptacle 706(FIG. 7E). The probe 702 is withdrawn, leaving the electronic chip 722within the tread of the tire 101 (FIG. 7F). The electronic chip ispreferably placed far enough into the tire tread of the tire 101 suchthat it will not come out but not so far that it interferes with theintegrity or strength of the tire 101.

Referring to FIG. 8, a controller 800 embodied as a general purposecomputer, programmable logic controller (PLC), a combination of the two,or any other programmable logic device, may be coupled to some or all ofthe actuators mentioned hereinabove in order to control the storage andretrieval of tires in the storage array and perform other inventorymanagement functions. In embodiments including a general purposecomputer 800 as all or part of the controller, the general purposecomputer 800 may include one or more processing devices and one or morememory devices coupled to the one or more processing devices, the one ormore memory devices storing executable code effective to perform all orpart of the storage, retrieval, and inventory management functionsascribed herein to the controller 800.

For example the controller 800 may be operatively coupled to the motors208, elevator actuators 422, 424, lifting actuators 504, the horizontalactuators 606, and the pivoting actuators 608. The controller 800 may beoperable to activate and deactivate these actuators according to anymethod known in the art according to the type of the actuator(electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic). The controller 800 mayfurther be coupled to the sensors 408 a-408 j such that the input oftires to the storage array may be sensed and processed as describedherein. The illustrated components that are shown coupled to thecontroller 800 may be implemented by coupling the illustrated componentsto a general purpose computer by way of a PLC.

The controller 800 may further store or access a storage map 802 thatmaps a tire descriptor to each storage location P(i,j,k) having a tire101 stored thereat. The controller 800 may further store or access anaccess history 804 that records when tires are retrieved and or input tothe storage array in order to determine what tires are most likely to beretrieved at a given season of the year, i.e. seasonal variation inaccess frequency as measured in accesses per week, month, or some othertime interval. Various storage and retrieval methods and inventorymanagement techniques that may be performed by the controller 800 withrespect to the storage array are described below.

A typical tire inventory application may be executed by the controller800 along with and one or more programs unique to the storage arraydescribed above. In particular, these programs may maintain the storagemap 802 such that the exact storage location P(i,j,k) of each tire isknown. In particular, each time the controller 80 invokes movement of atire from a first location P(i1j1,k1) to a second location P(i2,j2,k2),the storage map may be updated to map an identifier or other descriptorof the tire to the second location. In this manner, the storage map 802records exactly where each individual tire in the storage array is atall times, no matter how many times it has been moved around in theoperation of the machine or how long it has been stored in the machine.

The storage array can have many embodiments or configurations, dependingon the total desired tire storage capacity of the machine, the ceilingheight of the building it is in (and therefore the number of tiers 401a-401 c it can have), number and length of roller pairs 402 a-402 f inthe tiers 401 a-401 c and therefore variations in length and width ofthe footprint it occupies, placement and number of sensors 408 a-408 j,etc., but the basic operation does not need to change.

Referring to FIG. 9A, the operation of the storage array may beunderstood using the concept of rank and file as used in militarymarching formations. If one stands in front of a military formation inclose order with the personnel facing you, the first row of soldiersstanding shoulder-to-shoulder is the first rank; the second row is thesecond rank and so on down to the last row (rank). The individual linesof soldiers lined up front-to-back behind each soldier in the first rankis a file. Files are numbered from left to right. By knowing which rankand file each soldier is in you can pinpoint the exact location of eachindividual soldier.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the storage array may define files as horizontallocations i=1 to L, L=4 in the illustrated example. Each horizontallocation I corresponds to a horizontal location 406 a-406 j and has allof the attributes of a horizontal storage location described hereinincluding a plate 501 and corresponding actuator 504 and a nudger 600with corresponding actuators 606 and 608 as described above with respectto FIGS. 5 and 6.

The storage array may define ranks as the longitudinal positions 402a-402 f, represented in FIG. 9A as positions j=1 to M, M=4 in theillustrated example. Each longitudinal position includes a pair ofrollers 102 and one or more motors 208 for rotating the rollers 102 ineither direction as directed by the controller 800, as described abovewith respect to FIGS. 2A to 2C. Each tier 401 a-401 c corresponds to avertical location k=1 to N, where N is 3 in the illustrated embodiment.The values of L, M, and N may be any arbitrary integer depending onfootprint and height limitations of a location as well as the storageneeds of a location.

In front of the first longitudinal position j=1, indicator lights 410a-410 j and sensors 408 a-408 j are positioned at each horizontalstorage location 406 a-406 j. For simplification, each indicator lightis listed in the row labeled “G”, and each sensor is listed in the rowlabeled “S” in FIG. 9A. In some embodiments, each indicator light G=1 toL may be activated to emit green or red light. Using the storage map,the controller 80 may identify each empty location P(i,j,k) in thestorage array. In response, the controller 800 causes the indicatorlight G=i to glow green if there is at least one open position at any ofthe longitudinal positions at that horizontal location i. The controller800 causes the indicator light G=i at a particular horizontal location ito glow red if there are no open positions at that particular horizontallocation i.

A tire is loaded into a horizontal location i at longitudinal positionj=1 at the front edge of the tier k corresponding to the empty positionP(i,j,k). When loading the machine, the rollers 102 of the longitudinalposition j=1 are caused to rotate by the controller 800 (the top mostportion moving away from the center of the storage array), which causesa tire 101 resting thereon to spin rearward, toward the rear of thestorage array (j=M). At that point, the sensor S=i reads the identifyinginformation for that tire 101 and transmits that information, to thecontroller 800, along with the exact horizontal location i of the tirein the first longitudinal position j. The controller 800 uses thisinformation to updated an inventory and storage map.

Referring specifically to FIG. 9A, suppose the storage map 802 indicatesan empty position is available in one of the longitudinal positions j athorizontal location i=2 of tier k=1. The indicator light G=2 istherefore caused to glow green. A tire A is loaded at horizontalposition i=2 of vertical location k=1. A description of tire Acorresponding to the data retrieved by sensor S=2 of vertical locationk=1 will be mapped to the location P(2, 1, 1) in the storage map 802. Aninventory record may also be updated to indicate that one more unit ofthe model of tire corresponding to the tire 101 is available in thestorage array.

Referring to FIG. 9B, from the initial position it was loaded into, thetire A can be moved to any position in the storage by nudging itsideways to any position in its current longitudinal position j usingthe nudger 600 at the tire's A current location P(i,j,k) (P(2,1,1) inthe illustrated example). The tire A may be moved rearwardly to thesecond or other longitudinal positions 402 b-402 f by raising the plate501 at its current location P(2,1,1), provided the rollers 102 at itscurrent location are spinning forward (top surface moving toward thefront edge of the storage array).

For example, raising only the plate 501 under the tire A in locationP(2,1,1) will send the spinning tire A to the second longitudinalposition j=2 (position P(2,2,1), where it will settle between therollers 102 of longitudinal position j=2 (see A1 in FIG. 9B). Raisingall the plates 501 at a particular horizontal location i for alllongitudinal storage locations j, except the last longitudinal positionj=M, will send the tire A rolling to the last longitudinal positionP(2,4,1) as shown in FIG. 9B (see A2). Of course, by raising, two,three, or some other number of contiguous plates 501, the tire A may bemoved rearward or forward by a corresponding two, three, or some othernumber of longitudinal positions j. By moving the nudgers 600 atlocation P(2,1,1) side to side, tire A may be moved to position P(3,1,1)or P(1,1,1) (see A3 and A4).

By raising the appropriate plates 501 and activating the nudgers 600,any individual tire in any position P(i1j1,k1) can be sent to any otherposition P(i2,j2,k2), provided the adjacent horizontal or longitudinallocations are not currently occupied by another tire.

For example, if the rollers 102 of the longitudinal storage locationsj=1 to M are rotating rearward, toward the rear of the machine, tiresresting thereon will be rotating forward toward the first longitudinalposition j=1. Raising of the plates 501 at one or more locationsP(i,j,k) will therefore cause tires to roll forward a corresponding oneor more locations toward the front edge of the storage array. Thus, anytire in the storage array can be moved to any position in the firstlongitudinal position j=1 for unloading.

Referring to FIG. 9C, moving a tire in any direction in the storagearray obviously assumes that there is an empty position available tomove it into. In theory, any tire in any position within a particulartier k could be moved to any other position in the tier k by appropriatemovement of rollers 102, nudgers 600, and plates 501, provided therewere at least one position in a tier k that is not occupied by a tire.In practice, each tier k may be loaded such that there is at least oneempty horizontal location i at each longitudinal position j. In thismanner, any tire at any location in a tier k may be provided a “clearshot” to or from any longitudinal position j>1 in the tier k to or fromany position in the first longitudinal position j=1 by causing thenudgers 600 to move any tires between that tire's 101 current anddesired position out of the horizontal location 406 a-406 j of thattire. In this manner, the movement of a tire 101 between longitudinalpositions 402 a-402 f is only required when the tire 101 is being loadedor unloaded.

For example, in the example of FIG. 9C, in order to move tire A fromposition P(2,4,1) to position P(2,1,1), the controller invokes thenudgers 600 to move tire B from position P(2,3,1) to position P(3,3,1)(see B1) and tire C from position P(2,2,1) to position P(3,2,1) (seeC1). The plates 501 at locations P(2,4,1), P(2,3,1), and P(2,2,1) may beraised while the rollers 102 at longitudinal positions j=2 through 4 arespinning rearwardly. Tire A will then be caused and allowed to rollforward to location P(2,1,1) where it may be unloaded or loaded onto theelevator 412.

As noted above, the storage map 802 is updated by the controller 800 inresponse to each movement of each tire A, B, C to store the currentlocation P(i,j,k) of each tire A,B,C such that the location of each tireA, B, C within the storage array is known at all times. The storagearray therefore enables the retrieval of any tire at any time in amatter of seconds.

The controller 800 may update an inventory database every time a tiregoes into or out of the storage array in response to information pickedup by the sensors S=1 to L at the first longitudinal position j=1. Notethat reading of the tire data when the tire goes out of the machine is aredundant safety feature since the controller 800 invokes movement ofthe tire out of the storage array and therefore is aware of its removaleven without an output of one of the sensors S=1 to L.

In the event the data in the storage map 802 is lost, the controller 800may move each tire at least temporarily to a horizontal storage locationi=1 to L to the first longitudinal position j=1 using the methodillustrated above with respect to the tire A of FIG. 9C. In this mannerthe sensors S=1 to L may sense the electronic chips therein and updatethe storage map 802 accordingly. Although this is time-consuming, it iscompletely automatic, not requiring any human action except, in someembodiments, initiating execution of this procedure. The same procedureused to restore a lost storage map 802 may also be used to verify thecontents of the storage array to satisfy the requirements of lenders andaccountants for periodic physical inventory counts.

Variations and additions to the programs executed by the controller 800may also be used in order to, for example, analyze sales and the numberof “turns” (e.g., removed for a sale and replaced with a new instance ofthe same type of tire) of each tire size over time and position thetires that sell the fastest (get the most “turns” per unit of time)towards the front ranks of the machine so that they can be retrievedmore quickly than tires having sizes that have turns less frequently.

In addition, the combination of the mechanical components of the storagearray and the controller 800 enable various modifications to improveoperation. For example, as noted above, some tire sizes and treadcontours tend to wobble and/or move side to side within the shallow “Vs”201 of the rollers 102 at each longitudinal position j. However, thiswobble may not be present at some rotation speeds. The controller 800may sense the wobbling of tires, such as by sensing force exerted on thearms 601 of a nudger 600 at a particular storage location P(i,j,k). Thecontroller 800 may therefore determine (e.g., by adjusting the speed andmeasuring corresponding wobbling) a range of acceptable rotation speedsfor each tire in each position. Accordingly, when a particular tire ismoved from longitudinal positions j=j1 to longitudinal position j2 orfrom a horizontal location i=i1 to another horizontal location i=i2, thecontroller 800 may cause the rollers 102 engaging the particular tire torotate within the range of acceptable rotational speeds for that tire.Similarly, if a spinning tire is to be moved only one longitudinalposition j forward or back, the tire doesn't require as much initialrotational speed as it would if it were moving seven ranks, for example.The controller 800 may therefore cause the rollers 102 engaging the tireto spin at a speed sufficient to give the tire sufficient kinetic energyto move a desired number of longitudinal positions 402 a-402 f, theamount of kinetic energy increasing with the number of longitudinalpositions over which the tire is to be moved.

Referring to FIG. 9D, to load the machine, the controller 800 may invokedisplay of a “load new tire inventory” interface on a display device.The controller 800 may invoke rotation of the rollers 102 in the firstlongitudinal position j=1 of tier k=1 (the lowest tier) to startrotating forward (so that any tires on the first rank roller pairs willspin backward). All the plates 501 in the tier k=1 are moved to, or leftin, their lowered position (as shown in FIG. 5B).

The operator then rolls a new tire A onto any horizontal location i ofthe first longitudinal position j=1 that has a green-glowing indicatorlight G=I, position P(3,1,1) in the example of FIG. 9. The controller800 then automatically performs subsequent movement of the new tire (ortires) without any further human input required. The newly loaded tire Aimmediately starts spinning backward due to rotation of the rollers 102in the first longitudinal position j=1 and the sensor S=i at thehorizontal location i of the newly loaded tire reads the tireidentification data from an electronic chip in the tire and transmitsthat information to the controller 800 (sensor S=3 in the illustratedexample).

The controller 800 may then leave the newly loaded tire A at its currentposition (P(3,1,1) or determine a new storage location for the newlyloaded tire. For example, the controller 800 may cause the loaded tireto be moved longitudinally but be stored in the same horizontal locationi to which it was initially loaded. For example, tire A may be moved toposition P(3,4,1) in the example of FIG. 9D (see A1). In some instances,the controller 800 may directs the appropriate nudgers 600 and plates501 of one or more positions P(i,j,k) and rollers 102 of appropriatelongitudinal positions j to move the newly stored tire to a newlocation, as well as move any intervening tires longitudinally orlaterally in order to open a clear path from the first longitudinallocation 402 a to the new longitudinal and/or horizontal location forthe newly loaded tire.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9D, to move tire A to position P(2,4,1),the rollers of position j=1 may be caused by the controller 800 to spinforward. The nudger 600 of position P(3,1,1) is caused by the controller800 to move tire A to position P(2,1,1) (see A2). The controller 800causes the rods 102 at longitudinal positions j=3 and 2 to spin forward.The nudgers 600 at positions P(2,2,1) and P(2,3,1) are caused by thecontroller 800 to urge tires B and C to move to positions P(3,2,1) andP(3,3,1) (see C1 and B1), respectively. The plates 501 at positionP(2,1,1), P(2,2,1), and P(2,3,1) are raised thereby causing tire A toroll to position P(2,4,1) and settle there (see A3).

As noted above, each movement of each tire is recorded by the controllerand used to update the storage map 802, including informationcorresponding to the newly loaded tire A corresponding to the output ofthe sensor S=3 that sensed the tire A upon loading. For example, anidentifier or other descriptor of the newly loaded tire A may beretrieved using data sensed by the sensor S=3 and stored in the storagemap as corresponding to the storage location of the newly loaded tire

To retrieve tire(s) from inventory, an operator may input a tireidentifier, or select a tire identifier within a “retrieve tires frominventory” interface displayed by the controller 800 on the displaydevice. The operator may, for example, input a quantity and descriptionof the tire(s) to be retrieved. The controller 800 maps each descriptorto a storage location using the storage map 802 and invokes movement ofthe tire at that storage location to the first longitudinal position 402a.

For example, for a tire to be retrieved (“the desired tire”) from aposition P(i1, j1, k1), the controller 800 may invoke horizontalmovement of any tires located at the first longitudinal position j=1 orany intervening longitudinal position 1<j<j1 that are at the samehorizontal location i1, thereby opening a clear path for the desiredtire to arrive at the first longitudinal position j=1 and possibly moveout of the first longitudinal position 402 a onto the elevator deck 412.The controller 800 may therefore also invoke horizontal and or verticalmovement of the elevator deck 412 to be located at vertical position k1and horizontal position i1. In response to each of these movements ofthe desired tire and any intervening tires, the controller 800 updatesthe storage map 802 to reflect removal of the desired tire and the newlocations of any intervening tires that were moved. The controller 800may further update an inventory database to reflect removal of thedesired tire and may invoke preparation of documents such as an invoicefor one or more desired tires removed from the inventory information, arestocking order, and other forms for documenting or instructinginventory management tasks.

In a typical installation, three or four tiers k=1 to 3 or k=1 to 4 aredisposed on top of each other to conserve floor space, though any othernumber of tiers may be used depending on height constraints.Accordingly, for multi-tier embodiments, the storage map 802 recordsboth the position of individual tires within a tier k as well as thetier k on which the tire is located. Accordingly, in response to aninstruction to retrieve a tire, the tier k on which the tire is locatedis determined from the storage map 802 and the nudgers 600, plates 501,and rods 102 of that tier k are activated in the manner described aboveto bring that tire to the first longitudinal position j=1 of that tier kand possibly from the first longitudinal position j=1 onto the elevatordeck 412. Likewise, movement of the elevator deck 412 to belongitudinally and vertically aligned with that tier k may be invoked bythe controller as well as any lowering of the elevator deck 412 topermit retrieval of the tire.

An example of inventory retrieval is shown in FIG. 9E, the desired tireis tire A at position P(2,4,3). The controller therefore invokesmovement of the elevator deck 412 such as one of the storage locationsof the elevator deck 412 is aligned horizontally and vertically withhorizontal location i=2 of tier k=3. The controller 800 thereforeinvokes rearward spinning of the rollers 102 at longitudinal positions 1through 4 of tier k=3. The controller 800 then causes the nudgers 600 atpositions P(2,3,3) and P(2,2,3) to move tires B and C to positionsP(3,3,3) and P(3,2,3), respectively (see C1 and B1). The controller 800then causes the plates 501 at positions P(2,4,3), P(2,3,3), P(2,2,3),and P(2,1,3) to rise, thereby causing the tire A to roll onto theelevator deck 412 (see A2). For tires on the lowest tier, the controller800 may simply cause the desired tire to roll to the first longitudinalposition j=1, rather than onto the elevator 412. Where the tire A is ona tier other than tier k=1, the elevator 412 may lower the tire A to ator near the vertical level of the tier k=1 for retrieval subsequent torolling of the tire A onto the elevator deck 412.

In one exemplary embodiment, a storage array is housed in a buildingwith a ceiling height of twelve feet, which limits the machine to threetiers k=1 to 3, for example. Each tier k has some or all of theattributes of the tier 401 described hereinabove. In one example, eachtier k defines eight longitudinal positions j=1 to 8, each having thesame attributes of the longitudinal storage locations 402 a-402 fdescribed above. Each tier k may further define ten horizontal storagelocations i=1 to 10. Each tier k=1 to 3 therefore, has 80 tire storagelocations. The three tiers k=1 to 3 together therefore provide 240 totaltire storage spaces. For efficiency of operation, one empty space shouldbe left in each longitudinal location j, reducing the total practicalcapacity of the storage array to about 210 tires.

Assuming that the storage array is designed for tires with a maximumdiameter of 31 inches and a maximum width of 10 inches and allowing foradditional mechanical components and framework around the edges of eachtier k, each tier k and therefore the footprint of the storage array isabout 12 feet by 22 feet or 244 square feet to store 210 tires. This isa phenomenally small 1.25 square feet per tire of floor space for astorage array that stores and instantly stocks, retrieves andinventories tires.

In this example embodiment, the storage array is loaded and unloadedfrom the front edge adjacent to the first longitudinal location j=0 oftires. Access is only necessary from that side. The other three sidescan be up against walls, other machines, other parts of the store, etc.In some embodiments, the controller 800 includes a computer screen witha stand-alone console with a display and keyboard that are connected tothe various actuators of the storage array by a flexible cable. In someembodiments, the apparatus 700 for inserting the identifying electronicchips 722 into the tires (FIG. 7A) is also a stand-alone machine.However, one or both of these components (screen/keyboard and/orelectronic chip inserter) could be incorporated into the body of thestorage array or be on a separate desk or workbench without changing thefunctions of these components or the storage array.

Referring to FIG. 9F, when receiving a shipment of tires, the elevatordeck 412 is loaded by rolling one or more tires A, B onto horizontalstorage locations (e.g., V pairs 201) in the roller pair 416 on theelevator deck 412, which are forward (top surface toward rear of thestorage array). The one or more tires A, B will then start spinningtoward the rear edge of the storage array. The elevator deck 412,controlled by the controller 800, then rises to the tier k that is toreceive the one or more tires A, B. In the illustrated example, thetires A, B are loaded onto the elevator deck 412 at the level of tierk=1, which then moves the tires A, B to tier k=3 (see A1, B1). Thecontroller 800 causes the elevator deck 412 to stop with the elevatordeck at the same level as the desired tier (k=3 in this example) andinvokes any horizontal movement necessary to move the elevator deck to atarget horizontal location(s) that of the first longitudinal positionthat is to receive the tire(s). For example, in FIG. 9F, the elevatormoves from being aligned with horizontal locations i=1 and 2 of tier k=1to being aligned with horizontal locations i=3 and 4 of tier k=3. Thecontroller 800 invokes lifting of one or both of the plates 501 inelevator deck 412, which kicks one or both of the spinning tires A, Bout onto the selected horizontal locations (i=3, and 4 in this example,see A2 and B2) of the first longitudinal position j=1. Inasmuch as theremay be multiple tires on the elevator deck 412, this process may berepeated for each tire, i.e. the elevator will be moved to a horizontaland vertical position for each tire. For example, tire A may be kickedout at horizontal location i=1 or 2, rather than being immediatelyadjacent the horizontal location i=4 of tire B.

The controller 800 causes the rods 102 of the longitudinal positions jbetween the newly loaded tires position and its final position to spin.The controller 800 further causes a portion of the nudgers 600 to moveany tires located in a final storage position of the tire and anyintervening tires in order to provide a “clear shot” from the frontlongitudinal position to the final storage position. Alternatively, thenewly loaded tire may be shifted to a different horizontal position i inorder to have a “clear shot” to another longitudinal position j>1. Forexample, tires C and D may be moved from positions P(3,2,3) and P(3,3,3)in order to allow tire A to move from position P(3,1,3) to positionP(3,4,3) (see A3). All the plates 501 located at the horizontal locationi of the final storage location (i=3 in the illustrated example) thatare located between the front longitudinal position and the finalstorage position (P(3,2,3) and P(3,3,3) in the illustrated example) willbe caused to rise by the controller 800, except the plate 501 in thefinal storage position (P(3,4,3) in the illustrated example). Therollers 102 at the longitudinal position of the final storage position(j=4 in the illustrated example) will be caused to spin by thecontroller 800 prior to arrival of the tire at the final storageposition such that the spinning tire settles into the final storageposition.

This process may be repeated sequentially for each tire A, Bsimultaneously moved by the elevator 412 inasmuch as there may be onlyone empty horizontal location i per longitudinal position j, such thatonly one “clear shot” may be created at a time. Accordingly, followingmoving of tire A to position P(3,4,3), one or more tires may be movedout of the way to provide a clear shot for tire B to arrive at positionP(4,4,3) in the illustrated example (see B3)

Removing a tire from inventory reverses the process of FIG. 9F. Forexample, an operator may select “retrieve tire from inventory” on theinterface displayed by the controller 800 on the display device. Theinterface then displays “select tire(s) to be removed.” The operator canthen scroll down a list of the stored tires and select one or moredesired tires. An operator may also input a tire size, model andquantity rather than selecting an identifier of an individual tire. Ineither case, the storage array, through the operation of the rollers102, nudgers 600, plates 501, and elevator, delivers the tires orderedto either the first longitudinal position j=1 of the lowest tier k=1 or,if the tires ordered were stored on tiers k>1, to the elevator deck 412,which descends to floor level with the desired tires.

The indicator lights G=1 to L at each horizontal position i=1 to L onthe lowest tier k=1 having a desired tire located thereon are thencaused by the controller 800 to blink green, indicating that the tirelocated at the first longitudinal position is ready to be retrieved. Theoperator then removes the tires manually from the first longitudinalposition j=1 of the lowest tier k=1 or the elevator or plates 501 underthe selected tires can rise and kick them out to the area in front ofthe storage array. The sensors S=1 to L on the lowest tier k=1 and onthe elevator deck 412 verify that the tires have been removed, i.e. areno longer sensed, and the controller 800 adjusts the storage map 802 andits inventory records accordingly.

The removal of a tire A from inventory may be understood using thereverse of the example of FIG. 9F. The elevator 412 is loaded bycausing, by the controller 800, its roller pair 416 to spin towards therear of the storage array and its plate 501 to move or remain lowered.The elevator 412 is caused by the controller 800 to move horizontallyand/or vertically to be located in front of the horizontal location i ofthe tier k containing the tire to be removed. (tier k=3 and horizontallocation i=2 in the illustrated example). The rollers 102 on that tier kat the longitudinal position j containing the tire to be removed (j=4for tires A and B (see A3, B3)) and all longitudinal positions fromthere up to and including the first longitudinal position j=1(longitudinal positions j=1 to 4 in the example of FIG. 9F), are caused,by the controller 800, to start rotating towards the rear of the storagearray and the tires on those roller pairs therefore start spinningtoward the front of the storage array.

Nudgers 600 create a “clear shot” from the tire to be removed to theelevator deck 412 as described above. Additionally, or alternatively,the tire to be removed may be shifted horizontally to a differenthorizontal position I that has a clear shot to the elevator deck 412.For example, if tires C and D were located at positions P(3,2,3) andP(3,3,3) as shown, they may be moved to positions P(2,2,3) and P(2,3,3)(see D1 and C1) to allow tire A to roll forward to longitudinal positionj=1. The plates 501 are caused by the controller 800 to rise under thetire to be removed and at the same horizontal location at eachlongitudinal position between it and the elevator deck 412. In theillustrated embodiment to move the tire A from position P(3,4,3) (A3) toP(3,1,3) (A2), the plates 501 may be raised at positions P(3,4,3),P(3,3,3), P(3,2,3), and P(3,1,3). This causes the tire to be kicked outonto the elevator deck 412 where it settles into the “V” pairs in theelevator's spinning roller pair 416. The elevator deck 412 may movevertically and possibly horizontally to convey the tire A to the levelof tier k=1. As noted above, the storage map 802 is updated in responseto the movement of each tire, including the removal thereof.

The controller 800 may store or access an inventory managementapplication that maintains a “stocking/retrieving priority list” basedon past stocking and retrieving activity. This list will have rankedeach tire size and model that had ever been stocked from most likely toleast likely to be moved into or out of the machine at any time.Accordingly, for any particular time of year, the frequency of accessfor each particular model and type of tire may be calculated and eachtire may be assigned a priority according to its frequency of access,with higher priority tires having a higher corresponding frequency ofaccess. For example, snow and studded tires would have a higherfrequency of access in winter months, recreational vehicle and trailertires would be more frequently accessed in the summer months, etc.Accordingly, tires with a higher frequency of access at a particulartime of year would be moved by the controller 800 at that time of theyear toward the front of the storage array than those with a lowerfrequency of access at that time of the year.

In another example, a shipment of tires is received, each tire of whichincludes an embedded electronic chip identifying the tire. Likewise, anelectronic record exists including descriptors of each tire and mappingthe descriptor to an identifier of the electronic chip embedded in thetire. The electronic record may further include quantities andspecifications of the shipment of tires to be loaded. The electronicrecord may be recorded on a computer readable medium accompanying theshipment or received by some other means.

The controller 800 may then access the electronic record, such as byloading the electronic record into the memory of the controller 800. Thecontroller may prioritize the tires based on the “stocking/retrievingpriority list.” Therefore, the controller 800 may select a targetlocation from among empty storage locations in the storage array foreach tire in the shipment based on its priority, with low priority tireslocated closer to the rear of the storage array than higher prioritytires. Tires present in the storage array prior to the shipment may bemoved in response to the shipment in order to conform to a desiredarrangement of higher priority tires closer to the front than lowpriority tires. The controller 800 may then output loading directions toa human operator indicating an ordering in which tires from the shipmentare to be loaded.

In simple terms, the basis for the loading directions as calculated bythe controller 800 will have been based on the fact that loading andunloading tires from the front rank on the lowest roller deck uses theleast power and time and puts the least wear and tear on the machine.Conversely, loading and unloading tires from the rear longitudinalposition of the uppermost tier 401 c takes the most power, time, andwear and tear. Therefore, tires which are projected to have the mostfrequent “turns” will be loaded onto the lower roller decks and thosewith the least “turns” will go to the rearmost ranks on the uppermostroller deck.

Referring to FIG. 10A, to start the loading process, the operatorselects “load new tire inventory” interface element on the displaycoupled to the controller 800. At that point, all the rollers 102 in allthe longitudinal positions on all the tiers k=1 to 3 that have emptyhorizontal locations in them are caused, by the controller 800, to spinforward, which makes the tires on them spin toward the rear of thestorage array. Through the operation of the plates 501, all the tirescurrently stored on all the tiers 401 a-401 c are then caused by thecontroller 800 to move to the rearmost empty storage positions, whileleaving at least one empty horizontal location i for each longitudinalposition j<M, leaving the front storage positions open. For example, asshown in FIG. 10A, tires A, B, C, and D are moved back from longitudinalpositions j=1 and 2 to longitudinal positions j=2 and 3 (see A1, B1, C1,and D1).

Referring to FIG. 10B, the interface on the display then instructs“begin loading tires.” Green indicator lights G=1 to L then turn on overeach horizontal position i=1 to L that has one or more empty storagepositions in any longitudinal position behind the first longitudinalposition on the floor-level tier 401 a. For example, for tier k=1, allthe lights G=1 to 4 will glow green. The operator then rolls a tire fromthe shipment onto any first longitudinal position storage positionhaving a corresponding green indicator light G. In the example of FIG.10B, the operator places tire E at position P(2,1,1). The sensor S atthat horizontal position then reads identifying tire information fromthe electronic chip in the tire and sends it to the controller 800which, through the operation of the plates 501, sends the tire to therearmost empty storage position in the horizontal location which it isin if the controller determines that the tire is supposed to be storedon the tier k=1. The controller then records the tires final position inthe storage map 802. In the illustrated example, sensor S=2 senses anelectronic chip in the tire E and the controller 800 invokes movement ofthe tire E to the most rear ward longitudinal position, j, at thehorizontal position i of the tire, which is position P(2,2,1) (see E1).As noted above, the intended tier k for a tire may be determinedaccording to a frequency of removal of tires having the attributes ofthe tire (e.g., some or all of the type, model, and brand of the tire)such that more frequently removed tires are located on lower tiers kthan less frequently removed tires.

If the target location for a tire is determined by the controller 800 tobe a second, third, or higher tier k>1, the indicator light G at thehorizontal location of the tire just loaded changes from green toblinking red. In the illustrated example, if the tire E is determined bythe controller 800 to be intended for tier k=2, for example, light G=2will blink red. The operator then removes the tire from the firstlongitudinal position j=1 on the lowest tier k=1 and sets it on thespinning roller pair 416 on the elevator deck 412 (see E2 in theillustrated example).

A sensor on the elevator (e.g., similar in placement and attributes tothe sensors 410 a-410 j), reads the electronic chip of the tire andsends the identifying information to the controller 800, which registersthat that particular tire is on a particular “V” pair on the elevatordeck 412. When a second tire is “rejected” from the first roller tier,the operator places it on the elevator deck 412, where the chip of thesecond tire is read by another sensor on the elevator deck 412. In theexample, of FIG. 10B, tire F may be initially placed on tier k=1 andthen be placed on the elevator deck 12 in the same manner as the tire E.

The controller 800 then directs the elevator actuators 422, 424 to takethe tires to whichever horizontal locations i of whichever tier k thatthe controller has selected for them, based on their frequency ofprojected “turns,” e.g., their position in the “stocking/retrievingpriority list.” In the illustrated embodiment, the elevator deck 412takes tires E and F to tier k=2 and horizontal locations k=2 and 1,respectively. The tires E and F may then be unloaded from the elevatordeck 412 in the manner described above with respect to FIG. 9F. In thisway, the entire truckload of new tires is stocked and added to thestorage array's storage map in a relatively short time.

Various modifications of the storage array may be implemented. Forexample, modular variations may be created, which could then beassembled in a variety of configurations. The capacity and footprintcould be large or small, could be wide or narrow, could be loaded andunloaded from both the front or back, could have two tiers or eighttiers, roller pairs 402 a-402 f could be end-to-end, the elevator deck412 could hold two or ten tires at a time, the computer operatingprogram could be simple or complex, mechanical functions could be air,hydraulic, electro-mechanical or robotically actuated. In someinstances, a tire factory or distribution warehouse could communicatewith the controller 800 over a network connection just prior to loadingthe shipment of tires to be delivered and individual tires in theshipment could have been physically labeled as destined for the “lowesttier” or “elevator,” which would eliminate double handling of some tireson delivery.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, as noted above, many changes can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope ofthe invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferredembodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely byreference to the claims that follow.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A system for managingtire inventory defining a horizontal direction and a longitudinaldirection perpendicular to the horizontal direction, the systemcomprising: a plurality of rods each defining an axis of rotationparallel to the horizontal direction, the axes of rotation of theplurality of rods being offset from one another along the longitudinaldirection such that a plurality tires may be supported by pairs ofadjacent rods of the plurality of rods; at least one motor coupled tothe plurality of rods effective to selectively rotate each plurality ofrods about the axes of rotation thereof; and at least one actuatorpositioned adjacent the rods of the plurality of rods and defining atleast one engagement member positioned to cause a tire of the pluralityof tires at least one of (a) move parallel to the axes of rotation of apair of adjacent rods of the plurality of rods in response to activationof the actuator, and (b) move from resting on a first and a second rodof the plurality of rods to resting on a third and a fourth rod of theplurality of rods.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least oneengagement member comprises at least one plate positioned between thepair adjacent rods of the plurality of rods; and the at least oneactuator comprises at least one first actuator positioned to move theplate upward between the adjacent rods an amount effective to permit thetire of the plurality of tires to roll over one of the rods of the pairof adjacent rods.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein each rod of theplurality of rods further comprises a plurality of indentationsdistributed along the length thereof.
 4. The system of claim 3, whereinthe plurality of indentations comprise: a first conical section taperingfrom a first wide end to a first narrow end that has a smaller crosssection than the first wide end; and a second conical section taperingfrom a second wide end to a second narrow end that has a smaller crosssection than the second wide end, the first narrow end abutting thesecond narrow end.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofrods includes a plurality of rod pairs each rod of the plurality of rodsincluded in one and only one rod pair of the plurality of rod pairs; theat least one plate comprises a plurality of plates such that multipleplates of the plurality of plates are positioned between the rods ofeach rod pair; and wherein the at least one first actuator comprises aplurality of first actuators each engaging one plate of the plurality ofplates.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one actuatorcomprises at least one second actuator positioned above the plurality ofplates, and wherein the at least one engagement member comprise at leastone nudging member, the second actuator configured to move the at leastone nudging member parallel to the axes of rotation of the plurality ofrods.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the at last one nudging memberincludes first and second arms offset from one another in the horizontaldirection, the first and second arms each having a roller mountedthereto, the roller being rotatable about an axis of rotation parallelto the vertical direction.
 8. The system of claim 6, further comprisingat least one third actuator, the at least one third actuator configuredto selectively move the nudging member upward away from the plurality ofplates.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one nudgingmember comprises a plurality of nudging members, each nudging member ofthe plurality of nudging members being positioned along between adjacentrods of the plurality of rods along the horizontal direction.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the plurality of rods include a plurality ofsets of rods offset from one another along a vertical directionperpendicular to the horizontal direction and longitudinal direction,the system further comprising an elevator configured to move between thesets of rods.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the elevator furtherincludes a pair of elevator rods and at least one elevator motorconfigured to rotate the pair of elevator rods.
 12. A method formanaging tire inventory, the method comprising: providing athree-dimensional storage array defining a plurality of storagelocations P(i,j,k), where i is a horizontal position from i=1 to L,where j is a longitudinal position from j=1 to M, and k is a verticalposition from k=1 to N; providing at each storage location P(i,j,k) alifting actuator A(i,j,k); providing at each vertical position k andlongitudinal position, a rod pair R(j,k) each rod pair R(j,k) extendingacross all horizontal positions i=1 to L; providing at least one motorcoupled to the rod pairs R(j,k) and configured to rotate rods of eachrod pairs R(j,k); providing a controller coupled to the liftingactuators A(i,j,k); receiving, by the controller, and instruction toretrieve a tire T(a,b,c) located at position P(a,b,c), where a is aninteger less than or equal to L, b is an integer less than or equal toM, and c is an integer less than or equal to N; and in response to theinstruction— invoking, by the controller, spinning of at least a portionof the rods R(j,k=c); actuating a portion of the lifting actuators A(i,j, k=c) effective to engage the tire T(a,b,c) such that the spinning ofthe tire T(a,b,c) causes the tire T(a,b,c) to roll toward a forward edgeof the three-dimensional storage array in response to engagement witheach lifting actuator of the portion of the lifting actuators A(i, j,k=c).
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising an elevator coupledto the controller, the method further comprising invoking, by thecontroller, movement of the elevator to a vertical position k=c inresponse to the instruction to retrieve the tire T(a,b,c).
 14. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: providing horizontal actuatorsH(i,j,k) at the storage locations P(i,j,k) and offset above the liftingactuators A(i,j,k), each actuator H(i,j,k) configured to shift a tire ata given storage location P(i=i₁,j=j₁,k=k1) to at least one of storagelocations P(i₁−1,j₁,k₁) and P(i₁+1,j₁,k₁); and activating, by thecontroller, at least a portion of the horizontal actuators H(i,j,k=c),effective to move at least one tire positioned between storage locationP(a,b,c) and the forward edge of the three-dimensional storage array outof horizontal position i=a to horizontal position i=a1, where a1 isequal to one of a+1 and a−1, thereby permitting rolling of the tireT(a,b,c) toward the edge of the three-dimensional storage array.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the horizontal actuators H(i,j,k) eachinclude first and second arms protruding downwardly toward liftingactuators A(i,j,k), the first and second arms sized to be positioned oneither side of a tire stored at one of the locations P(i,j,k).
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein pivoting actuators V(i,j,k) are coupled tothe first and second arms of the horizontal actuators H(i,j,k) coupledto the controller, the method further comprising invoking, by thecontroller, pivoting upward of a pivoting actuator V(i=a1, j=b, k=c)prior to activating, by the controller, the horizontal actuatorH(i=a,j=b,k=c).
 17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:providing horizontal actuators H(i,j,k) at the storage locationsP(i,j,k) and offset above the lifting actuators A(i,j,k), each actuatorH(i,j,k) configured to shift a tire at a given storage locationP(i=i₁,j=j₁,k=k1) to at least one of storage locations P(i₁−1,j₁,k₁) andP(i₁+1,j₁,k₁); and activating, by the controller, a horizontal actuatorH(i=a,j=b,k=c), effective to move the tire T(a,b,c) out of horizontalposition i=to horizontal position i=a1, where a1 is equal to one of a+1and a−1, in response to determining that another tire is located betweenthe storage location P(a,b,c) and the forward edge of the storage array.18. The method of claim 17, wherein the controller is further programmedto store a map that maps each of the positions P(i,j,k) to acorresponding tire description, the method further comprising inresponse to each movement of each tire by any of the lifting actuatorsA(i,j,k) and horizontal actuators H(i,j,k), mapping a descriptor of theeach tire to a new position P(i,j,k) to which the each tire was moved bythe each movement.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the controller isfurther programmed to: evaluate variation in seasonal access frequencyfor each tire descriptor; and activate at least a portion of the liftingactuators A(i,j,k) and horizontal actuators H(i,j,k) effective to movetires corresponding to tire descriptors that are accessed morefrequently in a current season closer to the forward edge of thethree-dimensional storage array than tires corresponding to tiredescriptors that are accessed less frequently in the current season. 20.The method of claim 18, wherein the three dimensional storage arrayfurther comprises one or more sensors S(i,k) located at each of thehorizontal positions i and vertical positions k, each sensor S(i,k)being positioned to detect an electronic chip in a tire at longitudinalposition j=1 and horizontal position i, where j=1 is the longitudinalposition closer to the forward edge then all other longitudinalpositions j>1, the controller being coupled to the one or more sensors;wherein the method further comprises: detecting, by the controller, anoutput of one of the sensors S(i=i₂, k=k₂), where i₂ is an integer lessthan L and k₂ is an integer less than N; decoding the output todetermine a tire descriptor; and storing the tire descriptor in the mapas corresponding to position P(i=i₂, j=1, k=k₂).
 21. The method of claim20, wherein the sensor is an electronic chip reader.